The majority of South African films to come out of the country in the years since 1994, the year of the first democratic elections in the country, have largely focused on the turbulent history during apartheid and the years since as the country, its government, and its people struggle to find steady ground. Plagued by staggering crime rates, poverty and the HIV/AIDS pandemic, creating a strong film industry in South Africa has not been a top priority. But recent films, such as the Oscar-winning film Tsotsi and the innovative musical U-Carmen eKhayelitsha (based on the opera, Carmen, updated and set in a South African township and sung in Xhosa) have brought an international spotlight to South African film.